Why am I getting foreign key constraint errors during seeding?

Answer: This typically occurs if seeding order is incorrect or referenced tables are empty. Reset your database and seed in a clean state.

Quick Fix:

Reset your database and run fresh migrations with seeding:

php artisan migrate:fresh --seed

Common Causes:

• Seeding order is incorrect
• Referenced records don't exist
• Foreign key constraints are not properly handled
• Database is in an inconsistent state
• Previous seeding attempts left partial data

Step-by-Step Solution:

1. Backup your data (if needed)
2. Drop all tables:

   php artisan migrate:fresh

3. Run migrations:

   php artisan migrate

4. Run seeders:

   php artisan db:seed

Debugging Foreign Key Issues:

Check your seeder order in DatabaseSeeder.php:

public function run()
{
    $this->call([
        UserSeeder::class,        // Run first
        CategorySeeder::class,    // Run second
        ArticleSeeder::class,     // Run last
    ]);
}

Alternative Approach:

If you need to preserve existing data, disable foreign key checks temporarily:

DB::statement('SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=0;');
// Your seeding code here
DB::statement('SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=1;');